A Happily Ever After (A Swan Queen Ficlet)
by juicecupswanqueen
Summary: Regina saves Emma and defeats the Dark One. One-shot.


**A/N:** This had began as a writing exercise and morphed into a pretty nice ficlet. I thought I would share this one-shot in hopes it would create happy Swan Queen  & Swan-Mills family feels.

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She had figured it out. Regina watched as the Dark One was ripped from the savior; dark clasping swirls reluctant to release its prey and this time, it would not escape Merlin's staff, the magical object it was being tethered to.

"REGINA! IT'S WORKING!" She heard Mary Margaret scream from behind her but she would not turn around; could not afford being distracted from saving Emma. The woman had given up everything for her; continued to sacrifice herself time and time again. _Why the hell did she keep doing that?_ The brunette had wondered that, agonized over it. Then a possible answer had dawned on her like a kiss waking her up from a sleeping curse and she knew it was more important than ever to save Emma, so that she would finally know.

As the last black tendril menacingly floated from Emma's exhausted writhing form into the staff that Regina held high in the air, the blonde fell to her knees, leaning on her fists and Regina could feel the awesome power inside the staff trying desperately to free itself from its new prison.

The wood was hot and vibrating angrily but Regina had pieced together the puzzle that the magnificent sorcerer had alluded her to before he had died trying to fight the Evil inside the savior.

Then all of a sudden, silence took over and both Regina and Emma made eye contact, their chests heaving; Emma with shallow tired breaths and Regina's with bated breath hoping the younger woman was indeed okay.

They smiled at one another and Emma weakly addressed the former Evil Queen, "I knew... _you_ would... save me."

Regina's smile grew a fraction more before it disappeared completely as the staff started to quake in her hand, the entity within it trying desperately one last time to get out.

Like she had with Zelena, she closed her eyes, channeling whatever light magic she had within her and gripped the staff tighter. Happy thoughts of Emma and Henry fueled her magic and memories of them hugging and looking at her almost made her smile. She felt the good course through her system and she sent it all toward the long staff. She was smothering the darkness with it. Regina would not let the Dark One hurt anyone she cared about again.

She had a sudden suspicion that something bad was going to happen and sure enough, in its defeat the Dark One lashed out powerfully before being confined in the staff forever. The forcefulness of its rage lifted Regina up and hurtled her body through the air. She felt searing excruciating pain shoot across her back and her head as she slammed against a brick wall and then her body was falling to the ground, plunging into blackness.

Emma watched in horror from a distance as the the staff clattered to the ground and Regina was blasted off her feet; her body sliding down the side of the building she was thrown against and crumpling onto the concrete.

"Regina. REGINA!" The savior crawled, trying desperately to get on her feet, stumbling and falling as she went.

"Emma!" She heard her mother's cry but could not be bothered with it right now. She had to get to Regina, swaying as she seemed to fight her way over to her son's other mother.

"Swan," came a deeper voice near to her as leather clad arms tried to encircle her, but all she wanted was to make sure Regina was alive and well.

Defiantly and urgently she shoved Hook away, the exertion of her rejection of his advances causing her to trip onto her hands and knees where she crawled insistently to Regina's lifeless form.

"Regina." There was no reply. With as much strength as she could muster Emma righted Regina's form and gazed down upon her. Ironically, it looked as though the woman was peacefully sleeping and that brought tears to the blonde's eyes. "No. Please Regina. Please wake up."

"MOMS!" Henry fell to his knees as a few others joined them; Mary Margaret, David and Hook. "No, Mom. No. Please, Mom." Emma observed her son trying to shake the older woman awake but to no avail. He was sobbing now and so was she.

Henry bent down and placed his forehead against Regina's. "I am so proud of you, Mom. So proud." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, Mom. Please, please don't leave me."

When the brunette did not move or make a sound, Henry fisted her clothes tightly grabbing her to him and his body racked with uncontrollable bawling.

"Oh Henry," Emma sniffled and wrapped her arms around both of them. She lifted her head and gazed down sorrowfully at the brunette's pale face and shakily brushed back a lock of dark hair and placed a gentle yet tortured kiss on the woman's cheek.

A wave of light glowed and rolled from them then and Henry and Emma lifted their heads to stare down at Regina, whose complexion gained color and then they looked toward each other in amazement.

"Mom! Do it again! Kiss her!" Henry moved away giving her more room in absolute hopefulness and she didn't argue. She moved in closer palming the woman's face in both hands and suddenly memories wafted around in her head: their first meeting, their close encounter at the mine shaft that Henry was trapped in, them wrestling in Gold's shop watching Cora and Neal discussing the dagger, their combined magic to stop the trigger, their shared magic in Neverland with the moon, hugging Henry on the Jolly Roger, sharing smiles with each other before attempting to replicate a memory potion and their defeat of the chernabog.

Emma had been so stupid not to see it before.

She stroked affectionate thumbs across Regina's soft cheeks and shook her head in amazed discovery. _I love you._

Breathing the queen's scent in while capturing her soft lips with her own, Emma poured everything into that kiss: love, hope, understanding and she even tried for a little bit of magic and as her lips moved over Regina's the blonde mentally chanted the only thought to fill her head in that moment. _I love you, Regina._

With a gasp and a wheeze Regina's eyes shot open and she looked straight into Emma's crying eyes. "Emma?"

The savior blubberingly laughed back and smiled with tears streaming down her cheeks, "Hi."

Moisture began to pool in the brunette's eyes and all she replied with while compassionately stroking Emma's cheek was, "You're going to wreck my make-up, Miss Swan."

Emma laughed then and so did Henry and they both covered Regina in a hug and looked down lovingly at her.

"Mom," Henry cried and Emma watched Regina raise a hand to hold Henry against her.

"Henry..." Regina soothed lightly rubbing his back. "Help me up, dear."

"Are you sure," Emma asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

They both helped her up into a sitting position and she and Emma were seated side by side facing one another.

The queen looked at the savior and a tentative smile played on her lips. "I'm assuming it was True Love's Kiss and that _you_ had kissed me."

"Um... Yeah." Emma's dimple flashed. "It makes sense."

"Indubitably," Regina nodded certainly and her eyes searched Emma's face landing longingly on her lips. "Perhaps maybe for good measure, we should... um... that is..."

Emma chuckled and pulled her close, both hands on the lapels of Regina's jacket. "Come here." Their lips met, meshed and moved urgently together, opening and tasting one another and Henry blushed, Mary Margaret and David embraced and smiled, happy that everyone was okay and Hook had disappeared during the first kiss.

When they broke apart they stared at each other, grinned and then launched into each other's arms, holding each other in a form fitting and comforting embrace. Henry's engulfed both of them in a tight hug next enveloping the three of them together.

And that is how the Swan-Mills family started their Happy Beginning.


End file.
